The Spanish region as deserted as Siberia – in pictures

The Spanish region as deserted as Siberia – in pictures

Spanish photographer David Ramos captures the desolation of Molina De Aragon in central eastern Spain. The region, just a two-hour drive from Madrid, competes with Siberia and the Arctic provinces of Lapland as the least populated place in Europe. Along with the Spanish provinces of Soria, Guadalajara, Teruel and Cuenca, Molina De Aragon is fast becoming Europe’s largest desert in terms of population. According to official figures, it has just 1.63 inhabitants per sq km, compared to 1.8 in Laponia and three in Siberia

David Ramos/Getty Images

Thu 26 Mar 2015 12.01 EDT
Last modified on Fri 18 Aug 2017 03.13 EDT

11 year-old Juan Romero is the only boy in the village of Selas. There are just 9 people living in the village now compared with 64 on the last official census.

Juan with his mother, Mari Angeles Moreno, waiting for the bus to take him on the 68km round trip to school. The village school was shut down in 1974 and moved to the biggest village in the region, Molina de Aragon.